A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Objective 1.4. A talented and dedicated teacher is in every classroom in America.

Context: A talented, dedicated, and well-prepared teaching force is one of the most important ingredients for successful educational reform. Teachers' knowledge and skill make a crucial difference in what students learn. However, many classrooms do not have a talented and dedicated teacher who is adequately prepared for the challenges of today. For example, nearly 28% of teachers of academic subjects have neither an undergraduate major or minor in their main assignment fields. In addition, 22% of all new teachers leave the profession within the first three years.

Key strategies for FY 1999

Improved teacher recruitment, preparation of future teachers, and retention of new teachers.

Enact and effectively implement the new $67 million Teacher Recruitment and Preparation program that would support high-quality teacher preparation, as well as the recruitment of new teachers for high-poverty urban and rural areas that have the most difficulty in attracting and retaining a qualified and talented teaching force.

A new $75 million Teacher Training in Technology initiative would make grants to states, teacher colleges, and other organizations to help ensure that all new teachers can use technology effectively in the classroom.

The budget includes $1.1 billion in mandatory funds to begin a Class Size Reduction Initiative that, over the next 7 years, would recruit and train 100,000 new teachers in order to help reduce class sizes in grades 1-3 to a nationwide average of 18.

Rigorous standards for teachers. Provide on-going support for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). The NBPTS establishes rigorous standards and assessments for certifying accomplished teaching. INTASC is a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers and is a consortium of state education agencies, higher education institutions, and national educational organizations dedicated to reform in education, licensing and on-going professional development of teachers.

Strengthened professional development.

Embed ED's Mission and Principles of High-Quality Professional Development in all appropriate legislation and disseminate information on effective policies and practices to the field.

Through the National Awards Program for Model Professional Development, promote results-oriented professional development that focuses on improving student achievement.

The $335 million request for Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants would support intensive, high-quality professional development aimed at ensuring that all teachers have the expertise needed to prepare their students to meet high standards.

The $50 million request for Bilingual Education Professional Development would double support for helping meet the critical need for fully certified bilingual education and ESL teachers.

Research, development and dissemination on teacher quality and accountability. Continue to monitor and support the contract for the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT) a partnership of researchers, teaching experts and advocates, teaching and teacher associations, subject matter associations, national policy groups, and regional laboratories. NPEAT activities include research, workshops, conferences, publication of information, technical assistance and capacity building. Continue to support and monitor the grant for the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy at the University of Washington.

Public awareness. Issue the first biennial national report card on teacher quality by the end of 1998.

Coordination

Coordination with NSF and NASA. Work with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on several projects to improve mathematics education. The two agencies will jointly award capacity-building grants to districts to help strengthen district-level coordination of federal programs for math education. Key programs include those that support teacher professional development. ED will also be working with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) and NSF to prepare a "roadmap" for teacher preparation to improve the training of future teachers of mathematics.

Coordination within ED. ED's cross-office Professional Development Team will continue to improve the coordination of ED's programs that support professional development by sharing information and strategies across programs and by sponsoring training opportunities on teacher professional development for ED staff.

Programs supporting this objective

Programs solely for teacher training or professional development

Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants

HEA Title V Teacher Recruitment and Preparation

Teacher Training in Technology

IDEA Personnel Preparation

Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics

National Writing Project

Bilingual Education Professional Development

Programs for technical assistance and/or research

Eisenhower Professional Development Federal Activities Program

Eisenhower Regional Consortia

Regional Educational Laboratories

National Education Research Institutes

Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers

Statistics and Assessment

Programs for instructional services and professional development

Title I grants to local education agencies

Technology Literacy Challenge Fund

IDEA State Improvement Grants

IDEA State Grants (B, C, D subpart 1)

Bilingual Education

Goals 2000

Class Size Reduction Initiative

Educational Opportunity Zones

America Reads Challenge

Star Schools

Javits Gifted and Talented Education

Selected performance indicators and charts

Performance indicators in the Strategic Plan for objective 1.4 focus on outcomes that demonstrate an increase in the percentage of classroom teachers who are dedicated, talented and adequately prepared to teach to high standards. One of the indicators summarized here is a key outcome indicator the percentage of secondary school teachers who have at least a minor in the subject they teach. The other indicator is a key process indicator because it involves the number of assessment packages and certificates that will be offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Without the availability of National Board assessment packages and certificates in the vast majority of teaching fields, most teachers will not be able to apply for National Board Certification.

Throughout the nation the percentage of secondary school teachers who have at least a minor in the subject they teach will increase annually. (Goal 1, indicator 30 )

Indicator background and context. Data from the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) indicate that only 72 percent of teachers of academic subjects have a major or minor in their main assignment field (SASS, 1994). (This statistic includes secondary teachers and a very small number of elementary teachers who are assigned to individual academic fields.) Our goal is that the percentage of teachers with at least a major or minor will continually increase and will increase at a faster rate over the next several years as more teachers retire and new teachers are hired to take their place. Our goal is that by 2002, 77 percent of teachers of academic subjects will have a major or minor in the subject they teach. Seventy-seven percent is approximately half-way between our baseline (72% in 1993-94) and the percentage in the state that has the highest percentage of secondary teachers who hold a degree in the subject they 81 percent in Minnesota. (The 81 percent does not include teachers who hold a minor.)

Data source. National baseline data from the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Future national data will come from the 1999-2000 SASS and future SASS. Minnesota data from National Education Goals Panel Report, 1996.

Standards and assessments developed, approved, and offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will increase annually, reaching a cumulative total of at least 25 teaching fields by the year 2002. (Eisenhower Federal Activities Program indicator.

Indicator background and context. One of the performance indicators for objective 1.4 is that "the number of nationally board certified teachers will increase to reach 105,000 by 2006." In order to reach that goal, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) will offer assessment packages and certificates in a wide range of fields so that most teachers in the Nation can apply for National Board Certification in their teaching fields.

By 1999, packages for five of the fields that are under development in 1998 will be completed. Thus, in 1999, the NBPTS will offer certificates in 12 teaching fields that will provide approximately 62.4 percent of the teaching population with access to National Board Certification. When the 14 fields under development in 1999 are completed (in 2000, 2001 and 2002), a total of 26 certificates will be available, and 95 percent of the teaching population will have access to National Board Certification.

Data source. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Verification/validation of performance measures: A national evaluation of professional development and federal program support conducted by the Planning and Evaluation Service will provide rigorous, independent performance data on teaching and professional development. Successful accomplishment of these objectives will also be verified using national representative data from the National Center for Education Statistics and from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.